Fox News announces 10 candidates for Thursday’s prime-time debate

The first prime-time debate of the Republican primary race on Thursday will include 10 candidates, according to Fox News:

Real estate mogul Donald Trump

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee

Neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas

Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida

Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie

Ohio Gov. John Kasich

Fox, which is hosting the debate in Cleveland, Ohio, announced the list of candidates on air at 6 p.m. ET Tuesday.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who earlier last week was at risk of missing the cut for the primetime debate in his home state, made the cut at the 10th spot, edging out former Texas Gov. Rick Perry.

Candidates that did not make the cut will participate in a separate debate earlier on Thursday. Those Republicans are:

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal

Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina

Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina

Former New York Gov. George Pataki

Former Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore

The network used the average of five recent national polls to calculate the top 10 candidates. Those polls were conducted by Quinnipiac University, Monmouth University, CBS News, Fox News and Bloomberg.

In June, the network announced that candidates making their primetime primary debate “must place in the top 10 of an average of the five most recent national polls, as recognized by Fox News leading up to August 4 at 5 p.m. ET. Such polling must be conducted by major, nationally recognized organizations that use standard methodological techniques.”

In a statement, RNC chairman Reince Preibus said: “Our field is the biggest and most diverse of any party in history and I am glad to see that every one of those extremely qualified candidates will have the opportunity to participate on Thursday evening. Republicans across the country will be able to choose which candidate has earned their support after hearing them talk through the issues.”